IT IS NOT THAT EASY!

I recently started a new challenge , running, and for some reason i get the impression from people that they think this would be easy for me, well i'm going to tell you IT IS NOT EASY! it is as every bit as hard for me as it is for anyone who adds a new activity to their lifestyle. staying healthy and fit is a choice for me not something i love. i know some of you are shaking your head is disbelief but its true. i have to remind myself how important working out and eating properly is. i love junk food as much as anyone and to sit in front of my TV or computer for hours very easy for me to do too.

I work three jobs, leaving the house before the sunrises and getting home after it has set. i still find time to get my workouts in. I have been getting up at 3am in the morning to run, to take on this new adventure in my life, IT IS NOT EASY! and now your saying "don't you need to sleep to be healthy" and the answer is yes! i get 8 hours almost every night, i don't sit in front of the tv or computer at night, i go to bed, IT IS NOT EASY! to leave the comfort of my warm bed to venture out into the dark, cold morning, IT IS NOT EASY! i have scoliosis which creates a lot pain in my back, hips and now i've started running my ankles have been freakin' killing me, ITS NOT EASY! I get tired, sore, unmotivated and frustrated just like you.

on the days i don't want to do it, i remind myself, i will never regret working out, and if i don't do it i will constantly think , i really should work out. (thats annoying brain clutter!)

sometimes i think people just like to think it comes easy for ME so they have an excuse for themselves when it is hard for them, "its just not that easy" I KNOW!!!!

so stop thinking about all the reasons why you can't put your health first and think of the reasons why you can and should!

Its my last day of vacation! i have not worked out, run, ate anything healthy for 12 days. I now look forward to getting back in the game, the game we call life.

My photo shoot went really well. getting tons of great shots. i was very happy with the look i presented, healthy and fit, not "ripped" and depleted. i was looking at some competitors pictures yesterday and have decided my mind set has totally changed. I can't stand when i look at photos of beautiful girls who are so hard , with veins and paper thin skin, yuck! its just not reality or healthy and not what i want for myself. it was a very satisfying feeling when people say ,wow your great in you pictures and i can say "thanks, i was eating chocolate cake the week before at my husbands birthday party" Thats how it should be, enjoy life but stay healthy and fit!

So now what? i got 2 days left i will work on cleaning out my cupboards of all the junk and monday morning i will be back in my running shoes!! i will go back to saying no 80% of the time an picking and choosing a month in advance the occasions i will say "yes i would love some ice cream!"

Grocery Shopping!

I'm 2 weeks out from a photo shoot and thought i would share what i bought for groceries this week! (i have to buy for my husband as well so not everything is for my consumption)

1 pacakage of chicken breast

3 bags of frozen chicken breast

4 gala apples

4 jazz apples (new kind i found!)

1 small seedless watermelon (for watermelon steak salad)

dole spring salad mix in a bag

organic oatmeal

2 greek yogurts (blueberry)

bulk walnuts

2 rolls of ground turkey (99% fat free, jenny'o)

deli turkey meat

surgar free popsicles

honey bbq chicken strips (tony's)

4 white potatoes (the kind wrapped up to throw in microwave)

4 cans of diced tomatoes

2 cans of tomato paste

3 Rachels cottage cheese, 50z container(all different flavors, trying them out hopefully will be something to share with clients if GOOD!)

feta cheeze (for watermelon steak salad)

smuckers sugar free jam (apricot, love it on oatmeal)

peperoncini's

coffee (french vanilla)

cyrstal light

dried berries and apples

strawberries

plums

mushrooms

eggs

sliced cheeze, reduced fat (for tony's turkey sandwiches)

sugar free chocolate pudding (tony's)

red onion

lemon juice

there you have it!!

client lunches?

Ok folks i need some help with this one!! i have been hearing the excuse "i can't eat healthy because i have client lunches" can someone please explain this to me?? i will plead my ignorance here, is a client lunch when you go to lunch and talk business? is it rude or offensive when you eat with a client to choose healthy food? do you go to places that don't serve chicken or fish? i would think a business client would envy the fact you make healthy, smart choices and maybe you take care of business the way you take care of yourself. Then i hear "well when you eat out at client lunches everyday (really?, everyday you have client lunches?) its boring to eat chicken salad. Ok first who said you have chicken salad everyday, second I think being unhappy with the way you look and feel is boring AND depressing. I believe, and these are my beliefs so you don't have to agree, eating for excitement needs to be chosen wisely, weddings, birthdays, baby showers, date night with spouse, you get it right? If you have client lunches "EVERYDAY" and you can't eat healthy 90% of the time then boy oh boy ....

motivation

 Turn off the TV!! this has to be the biggest motivation killer!

  i get a lot of motivation from the people in my life, i like to lead by example. having the ability to inspire others is a gift and i feel blessed to have it. thats a big motivation!

  i love to read magazines, any kind of fitness magazine. (Oxygen being my favorite) i always turn to the work out sections looking for new exercises or old ones i haven't used in a while.   i go through phases of jumping on the scale EVERYDAY, yup  i do it, i know i teach people not to do just that,(weigh yourself everyday) but for me... it keeps me in check.

   i try different work out supplements, i never stop taking my "fitness stack" from Cyto-charge, (www.cytocharge.com) but i do like to shake things up every once and a while by trying different pre work out drinks, "Super Pump" being one of my favorites...need to get some "Smash" from axis labs. i do get a kick out of "trying to feel the pump?" LOL!

  i am also a people watcher, this works in two ways maybe even three... first, watching people at the gym is always more exciting then whats on TV. second, watching over weight people is such a big motivator to "keep the body moving" third, spotting the "in shape" people for sure makes me push a little harder!

  i track my calories burn for awhile then i might switch to tracking my heart rate then i might switch to tracking my caloric intake.

there are so many ways to stay on top of what you are doing to the body it never gets boring!

but really people, try turning off the TV!!  (no tv until the sun goes down) and see how much more active your day becomes. That is the bottom line, we must stay active. Im not saying you have to go to the gym more but just keep moving!

I'm not a super hero

Sometimes i feel like getting into competing in fitness and figure has been one of the worst things i have ever done. I wonder when the day will come when its ok (with me) to live , look and eat like everyone else. I feel like i have caused people to have  huge expectations of me, they always want to see how i look and what i eat. I, myself, am annoyingly aware of how i look and what i eat and yes i do feel guilty when i don't make the best choices or put on a few pounds, but to have people say "i can't wait to see what YOU order" when out to eat is a stab in my heart. I love that i can inspire others to be healthier but, the people pleaser in me is scared that i will disappoint the ones i inspire if i don't look and eat a certain way.  When asked what do you EAT?!, how shocked they are when i tell them i'm no different then anyone else. I, probably more then most try to live a balanced life. Competing is so off  to one end that when i'm not getting ready to get on stage i try to live every day as balanced as possible and enjoy  the family bar-b-q's , birthdays, nights out with friends, baseball games.... i still workout nearly everyday but really hate myself on the days i don't feel like getting out of bed! Some might look at this like "thats good you need to stay active and fit and healthy. i wish i could make myself  go workout" but to live with the feeling of disappointing the people around you and yourself can't be good right? I live to inspire others and teach them balance in life but wonder if in the end this will be what kills my spirit...the feeling other letting  the ones i want to inspire down because i'm not a super hero. You may laugh at that last comment but its true, someone once said to me..." i forget you are human"

June 10 120.5

5:00am 2 scoops of cyto-whey, 1/2 scoop of muscle milk

30mins of step mill

8:30 protein pancake

2:45pm  5oz of ground turkey,3/4 cup of rice (white) 1/2 cup of chopped aspargus

5:30 peach

7:30 1 corona,  few tortilla chips and salsa, steak salad

was out to dinner with long time friends!

few jelly beans on the ride home. 

june 9 123lbs

6:00am 2 scoops of cyto-whey, 1/2 scoop of muscle milk

11:00am protein pancake

2:45pm 5oz of ground turkey w/diced tomato, 5 aspargus stalks, 3/4 cup of rice (white)

3:45pm 30mins on step mill

4:30pm leg workout

5:30pm apple

7:45 5oz grilled chicken breast,sliced cucumbers and radishes 

sugarfree creamsicle (20 cals.)

june 8th 122.5lbs

6:00 2 scoops of cyto-whey, 1/2 scoop of muscle milk.

9:00 protein pancake

11:30 spin class

12:30 1/2 cup of cottage cheese and 5oz sweet potato 

2:45 (i was hungry!) 5oz of ground turkey cooked with a can of diced tomatoes, 3/4 cup of rice (white), 5 stalks of asparagus 

6pm apple

7:30 3 hard boiled eggs (yolks too!) 1/2 cup of broccoli

sugar free creamsicle  (20 cals)

food

june 7th 2009/ 125lbs

6:00am 1/2 cup of oatmeal, mised 1 scoop of bio -whey and 2 Tbl spoons of sugarefree jelly.

9:00am protein pancake

11:30am 6oz chicken breast 3 strawberries. (would of had more berries but they were old and soft. yuck!)

12:30pm diet /sugarfree Rockstar  and a cranberry Kind bar. (can be found at kingsoopers)

3:30pm peach

6:oopm 4oz salmon 1 1/2 cup of greean beans

is it really easier?

One of my favorite things to do while i'm grocery shopping is to check out what other people are stocking their cubbards with (is that weird?) Today i found myself getting angry. I seem to notice lately that families with kids in tow have their carts loaded with JUNK!  I just want to walk up to them and ask why? Do they think their children are immune to the damage that poptarts and cases of soda cause to the human body. Don't they want healthy kids that rarely get sick, miss school, have cavities, or how about childhood obesity? Won't happen to their kids i guess but what dice to roll!  How about teaching children how to eat healthy so as they grow, they develop healthy habits and they don't become a statistic later in life? What a crazy idea uh?  I know it must be hard to take care of children when you work  a full time job, especially now that full time jobs are 50 hour weeks. Hmmm?, so its quicker to give children a bowl of  Lucky Charms instead of Cherreos? I guess it does take a little longer to make a turkey sandwich then putting a frozen pizza in the oven... wait that doesn't take any "longer", it does take a little more work to put the sandwich together, but if you really think about it you could have the sandwich made and on the table before the pizza comes out of the oven.  I can't think of any good reason to let children drink soda. Soda cost more then water and come on!, you  don't have time to pour a glass of milk? An ice cold glass of lemonade is more refreshing on a hot day. OH!! kids don't like to eat the healthy foods... what? That has to be one of the craziest things i've heard!!  Don't we teach the child or is there a certain age where they just don't like chicken and vegetables any more? I keep thinking that people are just lazy. Teach your children, lead by example, and get them involved in making healthy foods and finding the healthy foods in the grocery store.  Make some home made oatmeal cookies, i'm pretty sure your kids will like them.

 If you know your weeks are jammed packed with busy-ness prepare for the week in advance.

 Think about your kids and do it for them, so they can feel good and be healthy!

not an option

I prepare and pack my next days meals every night.If i don't think about my day and what i need to bring in my cooler when i leave the house i almost always fail!!

I Eat Bird food?

           I EAT BIRD FOOD!

What does that mean?  Thats exactly what i said!! While eating my lunch a couple days ago, in the break room of a gym, an employee walked in and said "what are you eating? bird food again?" I found this comment very disturbing on many levels. I was eating a 6oz chicken breast, 1 cup of broccoli and a sweet potato. First, the employee was a personal trainer and i hope he doesn't tell people to be fit and healthy you gotta eat bird food but more importantly why do people think that because i compete in fitness contests that i never eat anything but "bird food"?  It cracks me up that everyone thinks i eat gross tasting, boring, disgusting food! Get with it folks i eat healthy!!  AND.....believe it or not, I do eat some not so healthy options every once and awhile. (Did you find the key words there?) i wish i could survive off chocolate chip cookies and fluffer-nuter sandwichs (marshmallow and peanut butter sandwich) If you have never had a fluff sandwich they are the best thing to come out of the east coast! (besides the Red Sox) But you can't survive off of food like that and thats what we need to let people know, because obesity doesn't need to be taking over this world! Yes i do understand it is harder for some people then others when it comes to dealing with weight issues but i don't believe its  THAT much harder to grab an apple, instead of the candy bar, when you need a snack.

 SO give me more "bird food" because i will take that any day over what comes with the candy bar. (tiredness, mood swings, lack of motivation, self esteem issues, medical bills and medication. The list goes on!) 

So according to some I EAT BIRD FOOD!! and proud of it! :)

 

weather dependent.

I am totally weather dependent! 

When the clouds are thick and heavy my mood is thick and heavy,when the sky is clear and the sun is bright, I feel like I could rule the world!

 I woke up this morning to snow falling and I decided I hated life. I wondered, why bother drinking my protein shake, a handful of jelly beans taste much better. I didn't want to work out, teach my spin class, eat my 2nd and 3rd meals that I packed in my portable cooler (i never leave home without it.) People who spend time with me know how I am about not missing meals! I moped around the gym waiting for my class to start. Oh! how I was dreading teaching in 90 mins. Yup! I had 90 mins to kill and couldn't even pick up a  dumbbell! 

 I did teach my class and as the music thumped I could see the sun peaking out from the clouds thats all it took and I was happy! sweat dripped down my neck and I felt 5 times stronger then when I walked into the gym. I cranked up the resistance on my bike and loved the pain that shot through my pumping legs! WOO! HOO! Ok maybe it was the exercise itself , I know that what's your thinking right? I'm sure that had something to do with it but no sooner did the sun come out and here come the clouds again. I was done wanted to go home, forget working the rest of the day, i wanted my PJ's and the rest of the jelly beans!! 

SOOO  I'm Moving!!  someplace where its warm and sunny!! I just think of all things I could do if the sun was bright all the time! I could rule the world!

ME

This is me, certified personal trainer,spin instructor,fedex employee, fitness and figure competitor, wife and owned by three dogs,yes my dogs for sure own me!

start now!!

Ok so i have been journaling (is that a word) for many years, i thought why not try and take it to the web? not sure how any of this works but I'm up for the challenge! I have to admit though not very good with computers I am for sure addicted to them! 

 So its sunday, I hate sundays because that means tomorrow is monday, back to work, back to clean eating,back to cardio, back to life! For now I'm going to cook some oatmeal,go workout and try and figure this blogger thing out and will return later!